Is it just me, or have the serranos lately been extra stout? I've been halving the number lately and still ended up with "crowd unfriendly" results.

I've definitely had a large variance with the heat. I've made some that was so mild that it wasn't very good. And some that was so hot that one spoonful would start me sweating.

The hotter of my two batches I made for Thanksgiving (four serranos including seeds) pretty much had to be mixed with the milder (four serranos but seeds from only two serranos). Some thought the milder was too hot. Nobody would eat the hotter but me.

Just made B1's beans, but added twice or maybe three times the bacon. The 4 serrano's definitely makes it hotter than some of my in-laws liked. It will serve over 30+ servings, so keep that in mind if you follow the recipe as-is. The clamato turns this into more of a charro recipe, so if you want them thicker, maybe reduce the clamato in half or take it out completely or drain the cans of beans before adding the into the bacon/onion mixture. The clamato does add to the flavor and I like heat, but cutting these down next time.

Everybody fess up - didn't you get horrified looks from those watching when you whipped out the canned pintos?

The first time I read this recipe, I told my wife, "no way I'd make these beans. It uses canned beans". After reading through all of the great reviews, we made it at home for ourselves so no one would know about it. Now, we've made it many times for friends and family and proudly share the recipe, giving full credit to you B-1. In fact we made a pot of them for her brothers on Wednesday night in Rockport. We usually seed the Serranos and the heat is just right. As always, they were a huge hit.I can't thank you enough for sharing it with us.

Just made B1's beans, but added twice or maybe three times the bacon. The 4 serrano's definitely makes it hotter than some of my in-laws liked. It will serve over 30+ servings, so keep that in mind if you follow the recipe as-is. The clamato turns this into more of a charro recipe, so if you want them thicker, maybe reduce the clamato in half or take it out completely or drain the cans of beans before adding the into the bacon/onion mixture. The clamato does add to the flavor and I like heat, but cutting these down next time.

Always rinse and drain the beans. If you want it thicker then take your potato smash and push it through the pot 10x.

For a long time I thought the clamato was the key because I dont know anyone that normally uses clamato in their beans. After seeing so many people say they used zing zang or some other tomato juice the clamato might not be what makes it.

For a long time I thought the clamato was the key because I dont know anyone that normally uses clamato in their beans. After seeing so many people say they used zing zang or some other tomato juice the clamato might not be what makes it.